


Devil wears uniform

by aimeeandjaguar, CruellaDeVillain



Category: Mädchen in Uniform | Girls in Uniform (1958), The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Devil Wears Prada Fusion, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drama & Romance, F/F, Female-Centric, Fix-It, Fluff and Angst, Older Woman/Younger Woman, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:26:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 16,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26701381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aimeeandjaguar/pseuds/aimeeandjaguar, https://archiveofourown.org/users/CruellaDeVillain/pseuds/CruellaDeVillain
Summary: Ten years after the boarding school Manuela and Elisabeth have rebuilt their lives, each in her own way but now their paths have converged again, in a much different setting.
Relationships: Manuela von Meinhardis / Elisabeth von Bernburg
Comments: 12
Kudos: 60





	1. Chapter 1

28 August 1931  
Just a simple summer morning, warm sun is shining through thin curtains; streets of Berlin are full of cars, chirping of birds and voices of the people hurrying to their work. In Meinhardis’ flat only soft sniffing of its owner and her dog could be heard. Loud noise of the alarm woke the dog up, and she started to pull the blanket off her owner because today was a special day – the girl was going to have an interview for a new job.

\- Aleeex, just a few more minutes, don’t be such a bore - curling up in bed from the lost of warmth Manuela said, covering her head with a pillow and shutting her eyes.  
The dog began to bark louder and started to lick girl’s legs to somehow grab her attention.  
\- Alright, alright, I’m getting up, stop it – giggling, she opened her eyes looking at the clock and realized, that there was only half an hour left before the interview.

After jumping out of bed, she ran to the bathroom to get her still sleepy body in order. Brushing her teeth, she sang a song from the boarding school, that she still remembered by heart. After completing the bathing procedures, she went to her pier glass and traditionally tore off the calendar page - today was August 28, the day she left the boarding school, dreaming of forgetting about it as a nightmare but there was something in it (or rather someone) that would never let Manuela go - Elisabeth von Bernburg, the one, who taught her how to express herself and to feel something much deeper than friendship for someone, and whom she recalled to almost every day before going to sleep. A lonely tear rolled down Manuela's cheek, and no more than that, enough tears have been already shed because of this, and it will not bring her back. Back in the real world, she snapped out of it and continued to gather for an interview. She decided to wear simple ash blue dress that suited her perfectly, and traditionally put on the shirt, Elisabeth gave her back in boarding school. This clothing has become some kind of a lucky charm for her throughout the years. Once again, immersed in her memories, she completely forgot that she didn't have a lot of time for gathering up, and after quickly putting her shoes on she ran out of the flat, saying a quick goodbye to Alex.

On her way to the office, she lit a cigarette on the go to calm her nerves a little before the interview. She needed this job now more than ever. It's been a long time since she's run away from her aunt’s home and already changed over 10 jobs. But in her opinion it was much better, than staying in the house with her aunt, who wanted to force marriage her, because Manuela's heart, even after so many years, still belonged to the same teacher, who met her on the stairs in the boarding school. She thought it wasn’t right to tie the knot forcefully and without love, so she decided to run away from this with her savings and settled down in Berlin, starting her life almost from scratch.

Reminiscing the past, she did not even notice how she approached the main office. She knew only that a girl named Emilia was supposed to meet her inside, and she was not worried about having to look for the boss's office all over the building. As she went inside, she looked around and concluded that everything here is madly beautiful and stylish; most of the workers were very elegantly dressed, but the overly fancy ones were also enough. Continuing to look around the office, Manuela did not notice how suddenly a redheaded girl approached her.

\- You must be Manuela? You have a few minutes left before the interview with her, so we need to hurry, she doesn't like to be kept waiting, - her future colleague said very rapidly and was already on her way to the offices. The girl had no choice but to hurry up after her.  
\- She?  
\- I won't believe that you don't know who Elizabeth Schneider is, unless you've finally fallen behind the modern world, - the redhead said, throwing a suspicious look at Manuela.  
\- By the way, you remind me very much of her former companion, you look a lot like her.  
\- She... Does she date women? 

She certainly didn't expect to hear such facts about her possible new boss on her first day at the new job.  
\- She hides it, but you can't hide anything from our gossipy clackers, - Emilia smirked, but the grin on her face disappeared almost immediately as she stopped abruptly near the office without the doors, where bright light was coming from.  
\- So, now listen carefully, you only answer the questions she asks and no more, and God, what on Earth are you wearing, you came here to get a job in a fashion magazine, - Emilia whispered rapidly and scanned Manuela from head to toe, there was also disgust in her already disgruntled face.  
\- What is wrong with my clothes?! - Manuela exclaimed a little louder than she expected.  
\- Stop yelling! - her future redheaded colleague started hissing aggressively.  
\- Emilia, who is shouting so loudly there? - a calm female voice came from an office without doors.

Emilia just rolled her eyes and pulled Manuela into that office. Bright light, as it turned out, was from a huge window, that was almost as big as the wall and at first it even slightly blinded the girl, so she couldn't even see who was sitting at the desk. But then, after getting a little used to the bright light, she realized that someone who was sitting here looked madly like Her. Very same Elisabeth von Bernburg. Her Elisabeth, the kiss with whom she still sometimes dreams of at night, the one who gave her the shirt she’s wearing now, the one that gave her the happiest moments of her life. Manuela froze and began to tremble slightly, she literally could not believe her eyes. After all these years, she had no hope of ever meeting her again. It had happened several times in the city that she had seen someone who looked almost like her and each time her heart missed a few beats.  
But if she was mistaken again, her heart would rupture with pain.

\- Elisabeth, it's our new replacement for Ilse, if you approve it, of course, - Emilia said in one breath and quickly clacked out of the office.

When the mysterious woman distracted from her papers and looked up at Manuela, all her doubts faded away. The same look, there couldn’t be any mistake.  
She changed a bit, - Manuela thought, - it's been so many years, her hair has gotten shorter and now it's styled more strictly, her hands have been covered with cute freckles, but the look... the look has remained as familiar as before, but the girl noticed a certain detachment in it and it left her a little worried.  
Manuela carefully put her résumé on woman's desk and calmly (at least outside) waited until the woman asked her at least one question. She was madly eager to hear that perfect voice again. The woman silently took her résumé in her hands and after reading her name, she abruptly looked up at the girl standing in front of her desk.

\- Manuela? Is that... is that you?! - the woman almost whispered, because she was too afraid that her voice would let her down at that exact moment.


	2. Chapter 2

– What are you doing here? – Elisabeth sounded overwhelmed, as if she still couldn't believe her eyes. After so many years she almost lost any hope to see her again. When she left the boarding school, she decided for herself never to search for a girl, because she was afraid that if they would see each other outside of school, where no one could watch them, she wouldn’t be able to control her feelings. Indeed, it wasn’t easy at all, the woman often caught herself dreaming of her ex-student, sometimes walking down the street it seemed to her that she sees Manuela in the crowd, but every time it wasn’t her. That’s why at first Elisabeth thought she was dreaming or at least mistaken again. But when the girl spoke, her doubts completely disappeared. Of course, it was Manuela, her Manuela.

– Well, I think I could do a nice job as your assistant, – Manuela started timidly, avoiding eye contact with the woman, – And... I came to Berlin to be a journalist, I've always enjoyed writing. I sent letters everywhere and finally got a call from here...

– So you don't read Podium? – Elisabeth suddenly interrupted.

– No, – Manuela was so glad she actually got invited for an interview that she didn't even bother to explore who was she going to work for and what was that all about.

– And before today you'd never heard of... Elisabeth Schneider? – the woman questioned watching her fixedly.

– No, – even in her wildest dreams the girl couldn't imagine her beloved teacher being an editor in chief of a fashion magazine. Of course Manuela had appreciated her stylish attires back in boarding school, but she had no idea then that woman's devotion to fashion would lead to something like this.  
– My, my.. I must admit your style is rather old-fashioned, – Elisabeth muttered, scanning every inch of Manuela, – although I can't see why having such a physique you can't use it properly, – she said trying not to blush fiercely.

Oh, come on, that's ridiculous, she was examining dozens of models in a day, sometimes they even were half-naked, but this time was different. She wasn't just a model, she was someone Elisabeth tried so hard to forget all these years but failed. Something about this girl left a trace on her heart, occasionally she woke up in the middle of the night, recalling the kiss they shared and not being able to sleep anymore. For a second, Elisabeth thought of her ex-sweetheart, Romy, who for some strange reason resembled Manuela so much. Maybe even too much, which was the main reason they got together, actually. Of course, the girl with Manuela's face and body didn't have Manuela's soul, which Elisabeth craved the most, so their paths soon diverged.

Suddenly the editor realized she's been staring at the girl too evidently, so she tried to come round and lowered her eyes pretending to study the tissue samples – she couldn't allow herself to meet the girl's eyes.

– I'm afraid that's all, – escaped automatically and then Elisabeth couldn't believe she just said it, she didn't mean to hurt the girl she still valued so much, but it was too late. She saw the tears in Manuela's eyes ready to fall.

– Yeah, you know, okay. You're right. I don't fit in here, – the girl began, almost shivering, – I am not glamorous and I don't know that much about fashion but, as you may remember, I'm smart – I learn fast and work very hard. Thank you for your time, I guess, – she said, running out of the office and holding back tears.

On the way out, she encountered a blonde, tall, skinny, absolutely gorgeous and self-confident woman. Podium's art director, Marlene was on her way to Elisabeth to discuss something when she noticed Manuela.

– Who is that sad little person? – she asked in astonishment, – Are we doing a before-and-after piece I don't know about?

Manuela almost left the building when Emilia's voice stopped her: – Meinhardis! She's hiring you.

The girl couldn't believe she was going to work for the woman she had dreamt of every night, but here she was. She turned around, smiling, and almost flown to the offices. Today was going to

be a long day but considering who Manuela was going to work for she was more excited that stressed, because she remembered the comforting aura which was coming from Elisabeth back when she was her teacher and which helped everyone not to be afraid of making mistakes and to be more effective. Manuela felt that even though the older woman changed her appearance, deep inside she was still the same understanding and caring person who loved all her students, as she said once. So Manuela didn't lose hope to impress the woman and maybe even get a little closer to her.

***  
Later that day Manuela came home completely devastated but strangely contented as if some part of her that was missing finally came back. She swore to herself to work as hard as possible just to please her boss and, as childish as it may sound, to make her proud and to prove her she hired the right person.


	3. Chapter 3

_After meeting Royal Highness downstairs, Manuela decided to do a rather desperate thing_ _—_ _she went to_ _Fräulein_ _'s office, even though it was forbidden for her. She wanted to clarify the whole situation and ask how She feels about it after all. The last thing she wanted to do in this world was to upset her Elisabeth; on the contrary, she wanted to protect and hide her from people like Sister Superior and Fraulein von Racket. Girl knocked several times on the door with and getting no further answer from there, she opened the door and realized that room was completely empty.  
It was quite dark in the study, only the moonlight from the window was shattering off the light walls and the gas lamp on the desk, which was muted almost to the end illuminating a small space.  
  
Deeply respecting _ _Fräulein_ _'s personal space, she did not dare to go through the things on the desk and simply went into a dark corner of the room and humbly waited, pondering in her head all the questions she wanted to ask the teacher. Immersed in her thoughts, she did not even notice how woman entered. The woman's breath was intermittent, as if she were about to cry. She stood by the window, covering her face with her hands to calm down a little. When she came to her senses she decided to turn on the lamp, but as soon as there was a bright light in the room she saw that her student was standing silently in the corner near the chest of drawers.  
  
\- You?  
  
There were already tears in the eyes of the girl that were ready to spill over her pale cheeks. She silently began moving towards the woman without breaking eye contact.  
  
\- What you’re doing here? Haven’t you said enough? - there was a clear panic in the woman's voice, but what she really wanted most now was to hug her and calm Manuela down rather than blame her.   
  
When the girl fell to her feet, her heart literally tore with pain, she helped her get up and sit on a chair. After making sure she was alright, she went to another part of the room and noticed that the fabric on her shoulder on her yellow gown was moist from the apprentice's tears, her heart missed another beat.  
  
\- You're lucky you just ended up in an isolation ward - Elisabeth broke the viscous silence in the room and threw her gaze at a girl who was just staring in one direction - Sister Superior weighed all options carefully.....  
\- May I still visit you? - asked the girl, with dying hope in her voice.  
\- I won't be here any longer - a woman turned to the window to restrain herself. _

_\- You’re leaving? - a new dose of tears was almost ready to pour out of those azure eyes._

_\- It's better that way, - after a long pause, Elisabeth said with a sigh.  
  
Tears rolled down the stream on the girl's cheeks, and she sharply jumped out of the chair and approached the woman, pulling her behind her waist, hugging her from behind. When Manuela felt that the woman had held her breath, she just pressed her tighter against herself and buried her face in her neck, leaving wet tear traces on her skin this time.  
  
  
_

_\- Either I leave with you or there is nothing left for me in this life better than death. - sobbingly whispered Manuela  
  
Elisabeth, disturbed by such a harsh statement, turned around and pressed the girl against herself, gently stroking her back with her hand trying to soothe the one's sobs._

_When the sobs quieted down a little, the woman took the girl's face in her hands just like when she kissed goodnight them all, wiping wet trails from tears on her cheeks.  
  
\- You have your whole life ahead of you. You haven't given yourself this life nor have you the right to take it away from yourself.  
  
The girl just kept sinking in Elisabeth's eyes, reveling in the soft and gentle hands of the woman on her face.   
\- But will I ever see you again,_ _Fräulein_ _? - asked Manuela with childish naivety.  
  
The woman did not give any answer to this question and just hugged the girl tighter. _

_Manuela leaned to Elisabeth again, enjoying such intimacy and drowning in the scent of her skin. Leaving a wet kiss on her teacher's neck, Manuela put her head on her shoulder again and simply enjoyed the silence with her.  
But suddenly she realised something was wrong. The woman did not even move a little. After taking away from a hug, the girl realised that the woman was looking at her with the same look as in the office during the job interview _ _—_ _a little anxious and with a touch of sadness._

_  
\- Fräulein, you all right?  
Elisabeth just hummed and said. _

_\- Meinhardis, nothing is going to be the same as it was before, you don't even know how I feel about you, what if I even hate or despise you, it has been too long since we last met.  
  
The girl was just grasping the air with her mouth, knowing that she couldn't answer anything because of a panic. After escaping from the hug, she turned towards the exit from the office, but found that the door disappeared and there was no exit. Pulling out of the hug, she turned towards the exit from her office, but realized that the door was missing and there was no exit. With tears running down her cheeks again this time out of fear, she tried to break down the wall where the door was supposed to be.  
  
\- I want to get out of here! _ _–_ _Manuela turned back with a scream and realized that she was alone in the room.  
Suddenly she got dizzy and fell right on the floor._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We dedicate this chapter to Lena♡ (if you know - you know)


	4. Chapter 4

All of a sudden, Manuela opened her eyes, realizing that she was in her apartment, in the middle of the night, and it all was just a dream. The girl's heart was racing, she felt sweat droplets dripping down her forehead.  
«At last it was just a dream, not reality», – Manuela tried to convince herself, although deep down in her heart she understood that everything happens for a reason. Her dream could only mean one thing – the girl still desperately loved her former teacher, and now her boss, the feelings have not subsided over the years, as she hoped, on the contrary, they became more intense and painful. During the last week, Manuela had to constantly force herself to take her mind off Elisabeth and focus on her work, because she did not want to be fired from her dream job within the first month. The girl often caught herself staring frankly at her boss until the woman could see. Manuela understood that this was beyond her professional boundaries, but she could not do anything about it.  
Dreams, as we know, reflect the most hidden and innermost desires of a human, exposing what the human soul craves. Manuela's soul terribly, desperately, passionately desired Elisabeth. The girl reconciled herself that she would not fall asleep that night, so, letting out a hard sigh, she closed her eyes and immersed herself in thoughts about the woman who, Manuela was convinced, would never love her back.  
***  
Today Elisabeth could not sleep again, it has often happened lately. The flow of thoughts in her head just kept her awake, but the last few weeks, apart from the working questions of thought, the woman was occupied by constantly thinking of her new assistant. Manuela.  
Elisabeth spent her whole life desperately trying to forget her years of boarding school, the years that brought her so much bitterness (even with a pinch of pleasure and forbidden affection). And now Manuela was her only reminder of the difficulties and mistakes that her life in the distant past was full of. The worst thing was that with the appearance of the girl in her office, her memories seemed to surface and her remembrance became more acute. The brightest moments were painfully vibrant now. Memories of every look, every touch of Manuela the gradually returned to the woman. And of their kiss (Elisabeth tried, but she still could not forget the taste of the girl's lips and the sense of absolute peace and correctness in those short seconds). Her body never reacted to anyone like it did to Manuela. Romy was almost flawless in bed, but Elisabeth felt as if something was always missing.  
The woman was vaguely aware that now, when they were both adult women, besides they worked so close to each other every day, she would soon be unable to resist her feelings. Every day at the office, she caught the girl's often unconscious gaze, and her heart missed a beat. Could it be possible that Manuela still had feelings for her? Will they be able to be together after all that happened? What if someone finds out about their shared past? These questions began to torment Elisabeth at night when all the work was done and the sleep did not come from nervous tension. The editor had accepted her attraction to women long ago, but she was not sure that it worked in the case of Manuela.  
«What if she has a boyfriend? What if she does not need me at all?» These questions, again. Elisabeth was so tired of not getting answers to them.  
After spending several nights completely sleepless and pouring tears of the pillow, Elisabeth decided not  
to risk her and Manuela's reputation and try to unobtrusively scout whether Manuela still had feelings for her. She was ready to fail, mostly her life was full of disappointments.  
«Come what may, I'll give it a try and I'll try not to worry too much if it won't work but if it will I'll be the happiest woman alive», – was Elisabeth's last thought before she finally rendered into sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

It has been three weeks since Manuela got a job in "Podium". The girl is almost accustomed to this pace of life: early rises, Elisabeth's assignments and regular critique from Emilia, apparently the redhead still cannot accept that the girl is being forgiven for some mistakes that have not gone forgiven to anyone before, and it seems to have hurt her a lot, because she did not understand how she deserved this just in the third week at the office, and even more, so she knew perfectly well that Manuela doesn't belong here

The morning began routinely with early awakening, strong coffee and a cigarette and coming to work early, because everything must be perfect before she arrives at the office. Her colleague has not yet been at her workplace, and she decided to take a better look around the office, a spacious and bright room decorated with vivid paintings by contemporaries. Going round the desk, the girl sat down in her boss's chair and turned to the window, still slurring a strange dream in her head and wondering again "What if the dream was prophetic, and she really despises me for everything that was in the boarding school?”

Once again, lost in her thoughts, the girl did not notice that someone else had appeared in the office.  
\- Meinhardis, why are you sitting in the boss's seat, are you already aiming for her seat? - A low a female voice was heard right behind the assistant's back.  
Petrified because of fear in chair the girl could not make a sound, but turned around and realized that Marlene was looking at her with a grin and a cigarette in her teeth, raising one eyebrow questioningly, waiting for an answer.

\- God, don't even dare you do that again, or I'm not going to get to that chair for sure.  
\- Well, with a wardrobe like yours, you certainly won't get it. - A woman said with a mockery.  
\- But my clothes are practical and I think they are very good - the girl exclaimed, defensively crossing her arms. 

Marlene just examined Manuela from head to toe and took a puff with her dissatisfied grimace.

\- You want her to see you as equal, don't you? – leaning a little closer whispered woman 

The girl just threw a surprised look at her with her mouth open.

\- I've known her for quite some time now, and she told me a little bit about her work at the boarding school and even mentioned you. I wasn't sure if this was about you, but after I saw you two in the same office, everything became very clear.

Manuela just flushed and lowered her head down, Romeo and that kiss flashed again in the head. 

Marlene put out her cigarette and decided to take control of it.  
\- I’ve seen how unhappy she has been lately, but after you came to the office it was as if she had lighted up with new vigour. If you are ready to accept my help — I will help you, - the woman said by lifting the girl's chin  
Some spark lit up in Manuela's eyes, and she just nodded back  
\- We only have 20 minutes before she arrives, we'll be able to find something for you - said blonde after looking at her watch and pulled the girl's hand into the wardrobe.

After the makeover, the girl hurried back to her workplace, because Elisabeth and Emily will be here any minute, with redhead wandering behind her again, writing down all the instructions from the woman.  
The girl nervously started moving stationery from one side of the desk to another to calm down a bit before She arrived. In the back of the office it was already clearly recognisable that it was her heels, which always resonated with the beating of Manuela's heart, and the steel voice giving instructions to Emilia. 

When the door opened, the woman became silent and surprisingly looked at the girl an elegant button-up mustard dress and a silk scarf around her neck that matched. Manuela blushed from such a keen gaze and simply greeted her boss quietly.

\- Morning, - Elisabeth held out the word, being powerless to take her eyes away from the girl, heading to her office. - Emilia, that's all. - said the woman, without looking at the redhead, still unable to take her eyes away from her former student.

Emilia herself was slightly shocked by her colleague's makeover  
\- Where did you get this? This is from the new autumn collection, isn't it? - The girl said in slightly envious tone  
\- Oh, this old thing? - winking, said the girl, sitting back at her workplace, still feeling Elizabeth's gaze on her skin.

***

The working day was coming to an end, it was dark outside the window, there were fewer and fewer people in the office, Elisabeth went to meet a designer two hours ago and for some reason she asked Manuela to stay longer before leaving because Emilia had something important to tell her.

The girl has managed to go through all the paperwork on her desk, talked to Marlene about renewing her wardrobe, and she agreed to continue helping her, which warmed the soul of young assistant, it's always nice to have comrades in an office full of people who don't take you seriously.

It took some time before Emilia walked into the office holding several folders and a book.  
\- Finally! I was about to fall asleep here, there were only ghosts left in the office and I, where you were, Elizabeth told me to wait...  
\- Today is a special day for you - the redhead interrupted Manuela - you have already heard about the Book, haven't you? 

Of course, in three weeks at the office she managed to find out a little about some special book that was delivered to Elisabeth every night, but she still did not know exactly what to be in it.

\- Well, of course... - Manuela said a little uncertain.  
A colleague of hers put a huge book on her desk with the large type “Podium”written on it. The girl opened the book in front of her and began to explain a little more in detail.  
\- The book is a draft of the whole month issue, you see here are some pinned notes.  
Manuela reached for one of them, but Emilia slapped her hand sharply.  
\- They cannot be touched; these are notes with which Elisabeth returns the book to the editors for correction. 

Manuela only nodded silently and waited for further instructions.

\- Now listen carefully, - continued Emilia with a strict tone.

The girl quickly got her notebook out, so she wouldn't forget anything. 

-Now it’s very important that you do exactly what I’m about to tell you. The book is usually delivered around 10-10:30 and you should always wait here in the office until the editors bring it to you. You will also bring Elisabeth’s dry cleaning along with the book. There will be a driver waiting for you at the exit of the office, who will drive you directly to Elizabeth's townhouse.

At the very same moment, the girl's heart skipped a few beats from what she heard. She will go to her house, she will finally discover how she lives, even though this is just her job assignment.  
\- Get that dreamy look off your face at once. You have to be invisible, do you understand? You hang the dry cleaning in the closet across from the staircase. And just leave the book on the table with the flowers. When you come in, you will understand everything. - Emilia interrupted her dreams and continued to give the instructions.

\- Last but not least, - the redheaded girl started to palm her pockets for something and eventually got a key and gave it to her - Guard this with your life, and yes, you still have to sit in the office for half an hour while the editors finish the book.  
The girl only wanted to thank Emilia for her instructions, but she had already vanished from the office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in this picture is literally the very same mustard dress that Manuela was wearing  
> https://witness2fashion.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/lhj-1936-july-500-vogue-patterns-color.jpg


	6. Chapter 6

“ _Alright, all you have to do is to hang the dry-cleaning, leave the book and be invisible, it's not going to be that hard_ ,”- Manuela calmed herself while sitting in her car on the way to Elisabeth's townhouse. The driver, whose name the girl, unfortunately, did not know, turned out to be quite a nice guy, not asking any unnecessary questions, so the trip was held in comfortable silence.

The car finally arrived at the townhouse, located in the very center of the city, although the place was quite quiet. « _This is so much like_ _Elisabeth_ », - Manuela thought, - « _being in the thick of events, while remaining in the shadows_ » Elisabeth's townhouse was not large, a little old-fashioned, but nevertheless executed with impeccable taste and in beige tones. The girl involuntarily noticed this color, which too much reminded her of the dress Elisabeth was wearing that evening in boarding school.

Rejecting inappropriate thoughts, Manuela stepped on the porch and carefully opened the door with the key that Emilia gave her. After taking a deep breath, she «let herself in», as Emilia would say, the house where lived a woman who so were attracting and frightening her at the same time. Manuela walked across the foyer and recalled the first assistant's instructions — she had to hang the dry-cleaning in the closet across the staircase. The girl looked around and realized that there were several closets in front of the staircase. Slightly panicking, she opened the closest one and, seeing that it was the suitable one, she sighed with relief. All that remained was to put the book on the table and the mission would be completed. Looking for a table with flowers, the girl finally got a chance to look around. Inside, the townhouse was even more beautiful than outside. The walls with cream wallpaper were decorated with many Renaissance paintings (Manuela smiled, remembering how many times Elisabeth mentioned that this was her favorite era in painting back in boarding school). Suddenly, the girl's gaze stopped at the painting «The Birth of Venus». Gosh, so many memories were associated with this painting.

_\- What kind of picture is that? - Manuela questioned, looking curiously through a crack in the wall._

_\- Read what it says underneath._

_\- The Birth of Venus... I don't like it, - the girl drawled._

_\- Why not?_

_\- Because she's so... naked..._

_\- But she has to be. But she has to be. She was just born. Venus, the goddess of love, - Ilse said dreamily._

_\- That doesn't interest me, - Manuela shrugged._

Over the years, the girl often remembered this work of art. She often had dreams about this painting, but instead of the face of Venus there was always Elisabeth's face. At boarding school she was saying she was not interested in such things, but it was not true. Thanks to Elisabeth, the girl began to be interested not only in literature, but also in painting; soon she began to see Elisabeth's image in every single piece of art, which both pleased and saddened her. Manuela really considered Elisabeth a work of art, which was getting better and gaining new colors over the years.

Distracting from her thoughts, the girl finally found the right table with flowers and headed towards it to put the Book, when she suddenly heard the quiet steps on the stairs. « _Is that... her?_ » - the girl's heart skipped a few beats. This really was Elisabeth. She thought Manuela was gone long ago and there was nobody in the corridor, so she decided to finally go down to get the Book. Manuela looked up and froze, amazed by what she saw.

Elisabeth was wearing a navy blue satin dressing robe, which favorably emphasized all the curves of her ideal figure. Her hair was carelessly loose, and, to Manuela's surprise, it fell on her shoulders with light curls. There was practically no trace of makeup on Elisabeth's face, and the girl looked into the face of her boss, holding her breath, and soon discovered some charming freckles on it, which she had never noticed before as Elisabeth always hid them under a layer of powder. The girl was so much shocked and amazed by what she just saw that she no longer in controlled her hands, so she accidentally dropped the book on the floor, and some especially weakly glued parts scattered all over the corridor.

\- Elisabeth, I am so sorry, let me just... – Manuela, almost crying, immediately rushed to collect everything, and Elisabeth, seeing what happened, without further ado rushed to her aid. They both leaned over the book, quickly lifting sheets of paper from the floor. Suddenly, Manuela realized how close they were to each other and inhaled the scent of the woman’s perfume, trying to remember it for the rest of her life. Elizabeth saw that the girl stopped and looked at her perplexedly, discovering that she was looking at her too. The eye contact seemed to cause an intense spark between them, and they finally realized how intimate the moment was.

« _Now or never_ », - Manuela thought, pulling Elisabeth close and kissing her both gently and passionately, allowing the kiss to express all the unspoken feelings. The girl's eyes opened wide when she realized that the woman was kissing her back. With a barely audible moan, Elisabeth captured Manuela's lips and, covering her eyes like ten years ago and allowing herself to dissolve in this unearthly pleasure, she felt a wave of excitement passing through her whole body.

None of them understood how much time had passed when Elisabeth realized _what_ they were doing, and she suddenly withdrew, breathing heavily. 

\- Manuela, what we are doing is unacceptable. This is a violation of professional ethics, - the woman said in one breath, trying to sound firm and not to pay attention to the disappointed and surprised look of the girl, - You better go, now! - with these words, Elisabeth turned around, quickly heading for the stairs.

Manuela quickly ran out of the townhouse, slamming the door. Once outside, the girl no longer held back her tears and let them flow freely, flushing away a layer of makeup, after all, this was the least she cared of now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the dressing robe Elisabeth was wearing kinda looks like this:  
> https://i.etsystatic.com/9022768/r/il/4876d2/1512285464/il_1140xN.1512285464_4q1o.jpg


	7. Chapter 7

Manuela barely remembered how she got home that night. When she ran out of the townhouse, the driver had already left, so the girl decided to walk, her home was not far from here, and now she needed to be left alone with her thoughts. The cool air of the fall Berlin night somehow brought her to her senses. When the girl finally home, her cheeks stopped burning treacherously, although her eyes were still wet.

Stepping into a dark apartment completely alone, Manuela felt the pressure of this oppressive silence. Loneliness. This is what she is now doomed to. Elisabeth does not want her, she made it clear by pushing her away like she did ten years ago. The only difference between the two kisses was that this time, the woman was responding her, and responding willingly.

Manuela's cheeks turned treacherously red again when she remembered the quiet, yet discernible moan that Elisabeth made, literally soaking her lips into hers. The girl could not get out of her head the way her boss persistently, but at the same time gently squeezed her shoulders in those precious moments when their lips were inseparable.

 _"Finally kissing her felt like coming home after ten years of absence"_ , — the girl's head rushed before she collapsed face down on the bed, completely exhausted, finally letting herself to cry bitterly.

The sobs obviously woke Alex up, who immediately rushed to support his owner, jumping on the bed and poking his nose in the girl's face, somehow trying to cheer her up. No matter how hard the dog tried, Manuela continued to cry, pressing Alex firmly to herself.

After a while, having calmed down a little, the girl wiped her tears and mused what she should do next. Elisabeth made it quite clear that she considered any relationship in the office, apart from business, unacceptable.

 _“But does this mean that she does not want to be with me?”_ — the girl was wondering feverishly, _— Could it be possible that she still wants me, but she is too scared to admit it?_ ”. Manuela was lost in guessing, which made her even more worried.

She had no doubt that Elisabeth wanted this kiss as much as she did, her actions spoke for themselves. However, the girl was confused and frightened by what followed the kiss.

 _“How should I behave with her tomorrow?_ _Should we talk about what happened or should we pretend that nothing unusual occurred?”_ \- these and many other questions Manuela could not give an answer to today, so the girl took a deep breath and tried to sleep, because tomorrow was going to be a hard day at work, and she could not allow herself to look tired, broken or tearful.

***

\- Manuela, wait! - Elisabeth turned around to get the girl back, but it was already late - the door shut.

Literally running to the door, the woman already wanted to open it, but then changed her mind, remembering the words she had said to the girl just now.

_“What we are doing is unacceptable”_

After taking a deep breath, Elisabeth sank to the floor, as she felt that her legs were no longer able to hold her, and leaned back against the door. 

_"What the hell was that?"_

The woman could not believe that this was not a dream, and five minutes ago she really was kissing Manuela passionately in the hallway of her townhouse. It was almost resembled that disturbingly familiar dream she had been having for all those ten years.

Elisabeth tried to focus on the problem they had just created but failed miserably. Her cheeks were still covered with a thick layer of blush, her heart raced and her lips were swollen from long kissing, which was very difficult to ignore. The kiss that just happened could only be compared to the one they shared ten years ago by the strength of sensations. Perhaps back then their relationship could have been platonic, but since now Elisabeth realized quite clearly that there would never be anything platonic between them.

There was too much the desire that both of them, as it turned out, felt. The craving for touching, kissing and... something much much more was too strong. Elisabeth was trying her best not to replay the way Manuela put her tongue in her mouth and twisted them. The woman realized suddenly that she wanted this tongue to be somewhere else other than her mouth.

Elisabeth was terrified of her desires, though she understood that she could hardly get rid of them or suppress them.

 _"I can't do it, not now"_.

 _"Today I made sure that she wants me as much as I want her,_ \- Elisabeth remarked sadly, – _but this doesn't change anything for any of us, we have to keep our distance"._

Former teacher as nobody else understood how important professional borders are for effective work, and why they shouldn't be broken in any case, that's why what happened today should never happen again.

With the thought that she would never again have a chance to connect Manuela's lips to hers and make them one, to hold her down and never let go, to look into her bottomless eyes full of adoration, Elisabeth could not hold back her tears. The woman felt the salty streams on her cheeks and covered her face with her hands, allowing herself to cry for the first time in several years. As if Manuela had pulled her out of emotional inactivity, but now she felt so much pain that all she dreamed of was a total lack of feelings for anyone.

Elisabeth sat on the floor in the half-dark corridor of her townhouse and feverishly tried to make a plan for tomorrow.

_"I think I should behave with her like nothing happened, but once no one is around, I will let her know that what happened between us must not happen again, I have no right to give her false hopes, no matter how much I wish the opposite"._

The woman rose to her feet and, wiping the tears, headed slowly for the stairs, aware that she would spend another sleepless night, and wondering agonizingly if she had made the right decision.


	8. Chapter 8

\- Sweetheart, could you please take these papers to Elisabeth? I don't have time to do this, I still have to deal with the people who ruined last photo shoot, - Marlene pointed her finger at the papers on the edge of the table.

\- No problem, of course.

\- Half of the office is empty, try to flirt with her, maybe you'll get your tidbit, - Marlene winked with a slightly perverted smile  
  
The girl's breath became slightly more rapid, a picture appears in her head of her pressing Elisabeth to the table, leaving wet crimson marks on her neck.  
  


\- Earth to Manuela, the papers can't carry themselves, - the woman snapped her fingers in front of the girl's eyes to get her out of the depths of fantasies

\- Ah, yes, papers, - being a bit confused and with slightly red cheeks Manuela headed to her boss' office.

On the way to her office, she tried to get herself sorted out, but it was pretty hard, her cheeks were still burning a bit, and the picture of Elisabeth pressed against her own desk refused to leave her mind.  
  


Finally the girl was standing in front of the entrance, the woman was sitting turned to the window in her chair, which Manuela thought could work in her favour, because she could just leave the papers on the table and leave quickly.  
However, it was as if her legs had carried the girl closer to her, woman was so into reading the morning paper that she didn't even notice anyone come in.

Manuela looked at this peaceful picture: Elisabeth sits comfortably in the chair, with her head slightly tilted, shaking her heel at her toes. No stress, just morning paper and peace.

  
As she turned the page, the woman distracted herself from the newspaper and realized that someone was watching her.  
  


\- For God's sake, Manuela, one cannot scare you like that, - Elisabeth said, putting her hand on her heart out of fear.  
  


The poor girl, in turn, was frightened that she had been spotted and accidentally dropped the papers she was supposed to hand over right under Elisabeth's feet.  
  


\- I'm sorry, I'll get it all together now. - with these words, the girl who was flushed, this time out of shame, fell to her knees and started collecting papers.  
  
The woman just shook her head and returned to the newspaper.

While collecting paper on the floor in a hurry, Manuela was distracted by the woman's feet, which were only a few centimetres away. Beautiful, tight legs adorned with lacquered black heels and stockings, and some small scar that caught her interest.  
  


After looking at her a little, the girl realised that it was not a scar at all, but just a slightly torn stocking. The girl was thinking about how to notify Elisabeth about it; she is the standard of perfection for her employees and many others, and cannot be spotted with a torn stocking.  
  
A frantic idea came to the young girl's mind: to help a woman take off her stocking and offer to bring her a new one. It was as if Manuela's hand had reached out to the woman's leg on its own and very carefully took off her hanging shoe that her boss had not even noticed.  
  


Making sure that the woman hadn't even suspected anything yet, she gently ran with her fingertips from her fingertips to the torn part of her stocking, drawing out strange patterns on her skin with invisible ink.  
  
Manuela continued to move her fingers across her skin until she clearly heard the sigh coming from the owner of such beautiful legs.  
  


The paper fell sharply out of the hands of the woman and their eyes met.  
  
\- Manuela, what... what are you doing?! - her ex-teacher asked, but still did not make any single attempt to take the girl's hand off her leg.  
Her gaze was unlike anything the girl had seen before: the colour of her eyes got a little darker and her pupils were dilated.  
  
\- Your stocking ripped and I wanted to help you take it off, - Manuela said as if it were not her own voice and, having felt a wonderful rush of courage inside, she continued to run her hand over woman's leg without breaking eye contact.  
  
The woman bit her lip looking at this picture, clinging her fingers firmly to the armrests of the chair and the girl knew very well that it was difficult for her to restrain herself.  
  


\- Don't... don't, I'll do it myself. - because of the abruptly lost breath from the feeling of Manuela's hand, which began to move higher, the woman could not even finish the sentence.  
  


\- I insist, - the girl's hand was slowly but surely moving towards her boss' skirt to find the edge of the stocking.  
  


Heavy breathing was literally reflecting off the walls of the office. Elisabeth could not find the strength to refuse Manuela and only leaned back into the chair, continuing to watch closely the intimate picture of her former student kneeling in front of her and trying to take off her torn stocking.  
  
The higher a girl's hand moved, the harder it was for her to restrain herself from fulfilling the picture that her mind had given away when she was in Marlene's office.  
But it was even more interesting to continue this game, a kind of challenge to both.

When Manuela's hand reached the edge of her skirt, the girl took her eyes off her legs and looked at the woman with a silent question in her eyes. Elisabeth only took a deep breath and nodded slightly, looking at the girl from her half-closed eyes.  
  
The girl's fingers delineated the edges of the skirt, as if giving the woman some more time to change her mind, but her desire was stronger and her hand slowly found itself under the cloth of skirt. Throwing her gaze at the woman to look at her reaction while continuing to gently stroke the skin on her thigh, she saw that she had bitten her lip and clutched her fingers on the armrest to the white knuckles.  
  


The skin was covered in goose bumps, which could be easily felt through the thin fabric of the stocking, and taking this as a good sign, the girl continued to draw out the patterns with her fingertips until she could feel the thick edges of the stocking.  
  
\- Here it is - whispering the girl picked up the fabric with the edge of her finger and slowly began to pull down the spoiled object.  
  


\- You know, I am very grateful to modern fashion that I can finally enjoy your beautiful legs in such skirts rather than in the floor length skirts that you wore in the boarding house.

Said the girl, intentionally scratching velvet skin with her nails, inflaming the atmosphere in the office even more.

The woman's intermittent breath became even louder, Manuela felt her boss's legs start to shiver and only smirked back, continuing to slowly take off her stocking.  
  
When the nylon stocking was already down to the knee, the girl leaned closer and started covering the newly exposed skin with light kisses. As soon as the girl's lips touched the skin, a barely audible moan came off the woman's lips, which gave Manuela the shivers on her spine.  
  
The girl distracted herself for a second to look at her face: her cheeks were a little flushed, her eyes were only slightly open, her chest was rapidly rising and falling due to her breathing, her lower lip was almost bleeding from how much she was biting it, Manuela couldn't remember anything more beautiful than this scene.  
  
Realising that there was very little fabric left, Manuela decided to tease the woman a little.

Finished with a stocking, the girl left a goodbye kiss on her ankle, wearing her heel back on a leg.

Putting a spoiled item on the desk, she went to the exit of the room.  
  
As she walked away from the table, she felt a sharp grip on her wrist.

\- Haven't your parents taught you how to finish any work? - Elisabeth asked, raising an eyebrow

\- I finished with the stocking, so I'm leaving, - Manuela had no intention of giving up, she was wondering what her former teacher would do next.  
  


But what she did next, she couldn't even imagine in her deepest fantasies.  
  
The girl did not even have time to do anything, as she was pressed to the table. As she stood with her back to Elisabeth, she did not notice how she grabbed her wrists and started tying the stocking she had just taken off around them.  
  
She felt the woman pressed tighter against her back and leaned closer to her ear.

\- Well, since you don't want to finish what you started — I will, - murmured Elisabeth, biting girl's earlobe.

Manuela felt the bottom of her stomach burning; if she wasn't pressed to the table she definitely couldn't keep her balance because of weakness in the legs  
  
The girl did not even intend to escape, especially after she felt wet kisses on her neck. That's how her thoughts became real, even though the roles had changed a bit.  
  
One hand held the former pupil's waist for balance, the other was between her breasts, pressing even harder against her.

When the girl felt a rather tangible bite near the pulsating vein on her neck, she could not hold back the moan, on which Elisabeth only giggled quietly.  
  


Her hand reached out to the top button of Manuela's blouse, as a loud sound was heard as if something had fallen.  
  


\- What the hell is going on here? - Emilia was standing in the doorway with a shock on her face and a huge folder lying at her feet.  
  
The women pulled away from each other abruptly, for some reason trying to sort themselves out, even though it was already clear that they had been caught.  
  


\- Emilia, it's not exactly what you think, - Manuela whispered nervously, not worrying about herself, but about Elisabeth's career.  
  
A loud noise was heard in the building, which in some ways was similar to a fire alarm.

\- What... what is it? - when Manuela turned around, she could not find Elisabeth behind her, and turning back to the exit, it turned out that the office became empty.  
  
The sound was becoming louder with every second and the girl felt as if it were ringing right in her head. Tightly closing her eyes and covering ears with her hands, the girl fell to her knees trying to hide from the sound.

When the girl opened her eyes tightly, she realised that she was in her bed at home and that high-pitched sound from her sleep was just an alarm clock that was set earlier than usual.  
  
Manuela rose on her elbows, trying to breathe steady, but it was quite hard after a dream like that. She could feel the bottom of her stomach still aching, her underwear was probably already ruined, and the kisses from her sleep seemed so real that she could still feel Elisabeth's teeth on her neck.  
  
" _These dreams can't go on like this any longer, you have to do something about it_ " went through the girl's mind. Looking at the alarm clock and realising that she wouldn't be able to sleep again, she got out of bed and decided to take a cold shower to get her thoughts in order at least a little before another working day at the office with Elisabeth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *reaching a hand out for feedback*


	9. Chapter 9

Manuela was terribly late. Of course, when the alarm rang, she jumped up and started getting ready for work but everything was falling apart. So at some point she just ended up crying. No wonder she literally flew out of the house, already expecting a reprimand for being late.

Moreover, today the girl was feeling even more nervous and tense than last night. Manuela understood quite clearly she could not go on like this, and they had to talk, but she had no idea how to do it.

She literally flew into the office, panting, and collapsed on her seat  
\- You're just in time, - Emilia said giving her a judgmental look, - Elisabeth will be here within five minutes.

Manuela simply nodded, still trying to normalize her breathing and to get her thoughts in order at the same time. One thing she knew quite clearly - if Elisabeth doesn't want it, she must stop showing her signs of attention if she wants to keep the position. The prospect of losing her job did not make Manuela happy at all.

\- She's there, she's there! - the girl heard everyone gasping, which meant the woman she was so afraid of and whom she admired endlessly was approaching her office.

Finally, Manuela saw Elisabeth. The woman looked flawless and absolutely calm as always (and charming, Manuela thought for a second). Today she was wearing a strict but elegant gray monochrome suit, which perfectly emphasized the merits of her figure. The long straight skirt opened the view for a pair of slender legs, invariably on heels. Elisabeth's unmatched bow tie, which had been making Manuela feel a whole range of emotions since the boarding school times, completed the look.

With a slight nod to the assistants, she majestically walked into her office, leaving both in awe.

Manuela had to gather all the will and force herself to concentrate on her duties and not to stare dreamingly towards the office of her boss, after all her future career, life and Elisabeth’s attitude towards her depended on it.

***

Elisabeth opened her eyes, ready for a new working day, and immediately remembered what happened yesterday and why her eyes were so red and face so swollen. Today she didn't want to go anywhere, but she understood that being in love with an employee was not a valid reason for not coming to the office, she’s a professional after all, so she made a strong effort to get up and finally start the day.

Getting out of the elevator, Elisabeth fixed her hair with a trembling hand and used all her willpower so her face did not express anything when she saw Manuela. Glimpsing at the girl from under the long lashes, she noticed dark circles under her eyes and the sad look of the one, so her heart painfully compressed at once.

After walking into her office, the woman closed the door, which tacitly meant "Do not disturb”. Elisabeth sighed deeply, leveling her breath. She wanted to burst into tears right here, but she sank down on her chair and completely immersed herself in revising the samples instead. At first glance at the editor, it seemed that nothing extraordinary was happening to her, but if one came closer, they would see her trembling lips and barely noticeable circles under her eyes.

***

Manuela's heart raced when she opened the door of Elisabeth's office with a trembling hand and entered.

\- Uh, Elisabeth, so, Madeleine Vionnet's assistant just telephoned and it turns out the appointment might take place today at two thirty, - Manuela chattered, deliberately not looking in the woman’s eyes.

\- I see, adjust my schedule, so we could make it to the appointment, - the woman said, trying to sound calm. She smiled sadly, seeing the girl diligently avoiding an eye contact.

\- If that is all I need to... - Manuela turned around, quickly heading towards the exit.

\- No, not quite... Manuela, - Elisabeth said quietly, checking that there was no one in the office.

 _"Emilia must have gone to Marlene, good"_.

-Please, sit down.  
The girl obeyed, looking at her boss in surprise.

\- Recently, I noticed that you seem quite tired, so I'm worried if you're doing well? Are you getting enough sleep? - with this last phrase, Elisabeth realised she had made a mistake. They are not in boarding school anymore, and she is no longer her teacher, so she does not have to worry about the girl this much, but she could not resist this moment of weakness - talking to Manuela alone, in a personal conversation.

\- How did you... I mean, I'm fine, everything is fine, Elisabeth, I'm just a little tired these days, so, no wonder I'm not getting much sleep, that's all - Manuela churned the answer out, she was trembling from the thought that the woman really cares about her and pays attention to her appearance. The girl felt she could barely control her speech from excitement, so she was glad she hadn't accidentally revealed the actual reason of her weary appearance.

\- If that is it, you should pay more attention to your sleep schedule, don't stay up too late and soon things will get better, I suppose. Oh, and your outfit is quite good today, _dear_ , - Elisabeth uttered, realising she just called Manuela "Dear".

– I... Well, thank you so much, your words mean a lot to me and, if you allow me, I must confess that I admire your personality and your sense of fashion from the boarding school times and I do even more today, - Manuela said with a generous smile, finally looking into Elisabeth's eyes, proud to have received a compliment from her, and happy to have been able to return it. A few moments later, the girl realised that the words she uttered put an end to their professional relationship and that she had just destroyed everything she had worked for so long.

\- I'm so sorry. - Manuela jumped up on her feet and quickly ran out of the office, without looking at Elisabeth again, trying not to burst into tears right there.

\- Wait! - the woman rushed after the assistant having forgotten about everything.  
 _"Did she really say it? And does this mean she..."_ \- her head rushed.

Elisabeth found Manuela bitterly weeping in the restroom.

\- Oh, why are you here? It doesn't matter anyway. I.. I ruined everything, didn't I? - the girl sobbed, sadly looking at her boss, - I failed you, I know, it is such a violation of business ethics... You must fire me now and you will be absolutely right if you do so, it is better for you to do so.

\- Manuela, what are you talking about? The last thing I would do is to fire you. You haven’t been working for me long, but I can see that you're trying your best and achieving some success, besides, we've known each other for a long time, it means that I can trust you. You see, you are almost indispensable, which means you can stay and work for me until you want to leave, - Elisabeth put her hands on the Manuela’s shoulders and looked into her eyes gently, making clear that all is well, and offered her the handkerchief to wipe tears.

\- Thank you, Elisabeth… I'm glad you need me, - was all Manuela could say, still sobbing, but now smiling confusedly.

\- Whatever for? - Elisabeth smiled back, - I just told the truth.

That moment the woman looked at her watch. - Gosh, we're almost late. Now, let's fix your makeup quickly, we have no time to waste. Madeleine doesn't tolerate tardiness.

***

The meeting with the designer went surprisingly smooth. Elisabeth, usually demanding, today seemed to approve most of Madeleine's ideas for the future issue, so the whole Podium’s team sighed with relief. Two women had known each other for many years and a kind of friendship was born between them, so Madeleine learned to anticipate Elisabeth's wishes, which this time resulted in a wonderful collection.

The meeting was over and the whole team was waiting for transport. Marlene took advantage of the situation and pulled the editor aside.

\- Elisabeth, darling, I've noticed you and Manuela seem to be quite fond of each other, - she said cunningly, - Should we expect that soon the Romy’s side of the bed will stop being empty?

\- Don't you dare to say such things! – Elisabeth said, trying to appear calm, although her slightly red cheeks revealed that she thought of what Marlene said too many times.

The whole team had departed, and Manuela was wondering where the editor’s car was.

Suddenly, Elisabeth approached her, seeming serious, but with her eyes smiling.

\- Manuela, don’t worry, I sent the driver away. There is a nice cafe nearby, I thought, why don't we go there and discuss our situation, if you don’t mind, of course. - the woman said, looking into her eyes, and the girl distinguished a request in her voice.

\- Of course, Elisabeth, as you wish, - Manuela answered with a strained smile and they left the building.  
 _"What is so important she wants to tell me?"_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Although new chapters have not been published for a long time, as an apology wait for a special Christmas present *wink*


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a pinch of drama never hurt anyone, did it?

The walk to the cafe was in tense silence, each of the women deep in their thoughts, one thinking about the outcome of the outing, the other trying to figure out if the decision to take the girl to the café instead of her home in the quieter surroundings was a good one.   
  


– We're here, – Elisabeth broke the silence.   
  
Manuela looked around, and the place was more like a cosy restaurant than a café: a quiet interior of fine wood, no noise and hidden places for rendezvous or negotiations behind screens

Manuela did not have time to comment on its the beauty, because the host of the restaurant almost ran up to them.  
  
– What can I do for... Oh, Elisabeth, you are always welcome in our place, your favourite place as always? – One could tell the host was a little nervous, and who wouldn't be? Schneider is at his place.   
  


The host escorted ladies to a private place away from everyone in a corner of the restaurant, the table on one side hidden by a privacy screen from the prying eyes of the other customers.  
  
– Kurt, would you be so kind and bring two cups of cof... - glancing at a slightly tense Manuela, who was still avoiding her gaze, Elisabeth knew that the conversation would not get that far with a simple cup of coffee. – Two glasses of champagne, I hope you remember my favourite. – Elisabeth finished her order by giving the boy a warm smile

– Sure, coming right up.   
  


The slightly annoying silence between them was beginning to bother Elisabeth.   
  


– Manuela, don’t you want to eat? I know that you did not go out for lunch today, alcohol is not good on an empty stomach. – Elisabeth became slightly worried.

  
Manuela looked at Elisabeth and understood that nerves were making her nauseous and that she was not feeling like eating.

  
– No, I'm fine, I had a snack this morning, don't worry, – though it was a blatant lie because her breakfast for quite long time had consisted of just coffee and a cigarette on her way to work, but the last thing she wanted was to have Elisabeth worrying about it.  
  
The silence was rather disturbing: Elisabeth was tapping nervously on the wood of the table glancing nervously in the direction of the waiter, desperate to soothe her nerves with a precious drink. Manuela on the other hand was still sitting with her head lowered, contemplating the worst outcome of this dinner. _"What if she does fire me for breaking work ethics"_ , _"What if she despises me for that kiss at the townhouse"_. These "What ifs" literally filled the girl's head and finally plucking up her courage she decided to ask what she had been called here for.

  
– So what did you want to tell me... – she began uncertainly, gripping her fingers tightly into the chair until her knuckles turned white to keep the trembling down a little.

– Oh, here comes Kurt with our champagne, – Elisabeth exclaimed, pretending not to hear the girl's question.   
_"Not yet, wait a little longer, my girl."  
  
_

The waiter put two glasses on the table and poured the sparkling drink into them, then left, wishing ladies a pleasant evening.

  
– I would like to propose a toast, – Elisabeth began, raising the crystal glass with a trembling hand.   
  


Manuela raised her eyes to the woman and for the first time since they had been in the place their gazes met. Elisabeth frowned slightly as the girl looked at her with the same broken look she'd had that night in her office at the boarding school when she'd announced that she was leaving it.  
  


– So the toast, - Elisabeth continued, shaking her head, pushing away sad memories, - To the reunion, since this is the first time we've met as friends since you came to work for me, and to future productive partnership. - " _Well done, Elisabeth, now she'll definitely think you only see her as an employee and nothing else, again you're avoiding the main thing_ "   
  
Manuela smiled bitterly and only whispered "To us" before reaching for Elisabeth’s glass.

Sadness swept over the girl and so she almost knocked the glass down in a gulp, hoping that it would distract her at least a little. Elisabeth raised an eyebrow at this and took a rather large sip of champagne. " _It won't be an easy conversation, if only the alcohol would work."  
_  
– Are you satisfied with your job? Do you like the staff? – diplomatically, Elisabeth started with distant topics to ease the girl's mood.

– The work is fine, although I am still learning all the nuances, you have gathered true professionals into your team, and I am not surprised, because the best must work for the best. - At the last words she looked up to see the reaction of the woman   
  


It was either the compliment about the job or the gaze of Manuela that took Elisabeth's breath away, as if trying to look into her soul.  
  
– Thank you, that's lovely to hear… – Elisabeth's cheeks flushed slightly, and she hoped that in the dim light the girl could not see her blush, - and about my people of course, it's important to do as if you are doing everything for yourself and with your full commitment. – Woman continued nervously just to distract herself from the compliment.   
  
Manuela had been watching the woman's reaction the whole time, she was glad that the alcohol hadn't started to affect her yet and her soul literally fluttered when she saw Elisabeth lowering her gaze to hide her emotions.

She finished her glass and asked for a second one. Girl felt more relaxed now than when they had come here, there was no more tension and fear of being fired, now she was just enjoying a good evening and the intimacy of the moments with the woman who had owned her heart for years.  
  
Elisabeth sipped the champagne from time to time, it was obvious that she was not completely relaxed and still a little anxious. She twirled the glass in her hand as she watched the strings of bubbles that danced in the crystal cage. The woman pondered the right words to ask the question for which they were here. Her nerves were making the words absolutely impossible to form into sentences and Elisabeth found nothing better than to drain the glass, hoping that it would relax her and the words would come to her mind later at the right moment.  
  
– Delicious champagne, don't you think? - woman asked, tinkling the empty glass on the table.

– What did you see in Romy? - shot out the girl without thinking. _"Apparently alcohol on an empty stomach does indeed work faster".  
  
_

Manuela glanced at the woman who certainly hadn't expected such a direct question about her former lover. Elisabeth sat with a surprised look on her face, trying not to go into detail about how exactly Manuela had found out about her. _"Elisabeth, remember you promised yourself before entering the restaurant today that you would reveal everything, so tell it like it is, there's nothing to lose."_   
  


Manuela watched the change in Elisabeth's face, first surprise, then embarrassment mixed with.... fear? She stopped running through the options in her head and patiently continued to wait for an answer to her question, sipping occasionally from her glass  
Taking a deep breath and squeezing her chair until her knuckles turned white under the table for a sense of stability, Elisabeth began to speak.  
  


– You have probably been told that Romy was my lover, and most likely, those people will probably be punished for spreading rumours at work, – Elisabeth let out a nervous chuckle, making a note in her head to talk to Marlene about the gossip. - I don't know what exactly you have been told there, the relationship was easy, we met at a fashion show and everything was going great, you've probably already been told that you look like her and you're almost like twins. Yes it’s true, she had your eyes and your features, but… – Elisabeth fixed the loose strand from her forehead with a trembling hand to calm herself a little before what she was about to say.  
  


Manuela sat stony-faced, not taking her eyes off the woman sitting in front of her, clutching her glass tightly in her hand.  
 _"Now is not the time for jealousy, calm down and control yourself"_   
  
The alcohol playing in the blood increased the feeling of jealousy several times, I wanted to get out of here, that's how hard it hit the girl.  
  


– ...but she was not you, – Elisabeth finally had the courage to say it with a sigh of relief, - She was just an echo of you, she did not have the sensitivity and fragility of you, she... she was an empty shell that resembled you, and I am terribly ashamed of that, Manuela. – Elisabeth lowered her head and covered her face with hands, remembering again the pain she had caused to an innocent person who just by coincidence looked like her.   
  
– And when I realized that the only reason we were together was because I saw you in her, I felt guilty because I had literally used her to dull my inner yearning for you, God, I'm so sorry. – The last words escaped from Elisabeth's lips in a whisper, the sense of shame and bitter truth enveloping the woman's body in a viscous sheath.  
  
Manuela was still processing this information in her head, but most of all her heart was breaking for the state the woman was in. She wanted to comfort her, to hold her, to reassure her that everything was fine, so she wouldn't get upset, to kiss her...

As the table was small, the girl could easily reach the woman's arms, which covered her face. Feeling the warm hands touching her hands, Elisabeth looked up in surprise at the girl, who was looking at her with warmth and a soft smile. Manuela lowered the woman's hands to the table and covered them with her own slightly squeezing them.  
  


– There is no shame in it, we cannot allow ourselves to forget our feelings or remove the events from our memory, the most important thing is that I am here now and that we don't need any substitutes. – Manuela said in a single breath, surprised at her own boldness.  
  
– It's just, you know, it was the only way to be close to you, even though it was only in visual aspect, if you know what I mean. – Elisabeth lowered her head in embarrassment once again, ashamed of her own thoughts and memories of how during the intimacy she imagined Manuela in Romy's place.  
  
Manuela's throat became dry with thoughts running through her head, and she couldn't find a better way to get rid of her thirst than to finish her glass at once.   
  


– We broke up shortly before you came into the office because I knew that I was doing the wrong thing, and I was tired of deceiving myself. – Elisabeth continued to explain in a quiet voice.

The girl squeezed woman's hands tighter, since that was the only way she could support her in a public place.  
  
– While we're on the subject of the past, I have some strange things to share - Manuela thought Elisabeth should know what was going on in her life after she left the boarding school.  
  
– After you left I was treated terribly, for quite a long time they prevented me from talking to other students and literally put me in a separate room so that I had no contact with anyone. Because of the lack of human contact except in class I literally turned into my own shadow. I had to communicate with the girls through letters and ask the maids to pass the messages to them. The other teachers started to be wary of me, even though I was an excellent student, they literally pretended I didn't exis... – Manuela could not finish the last word because tears were ready to come out of her azure eyes as the memories of the boarding house were so painful.  
  
Elisabeth listened almost breathlessly – picturing all the nightmare the little girl was going through, it tore her heart to tatters.  
  
– But there were some good moments, Miss Evans was the only one who supported and helped me, sometimes even passing letters to the girls and defending me in front of Racket and Sister Superior. If it wasn't for her I'm not sure I would have made it to my final year in those conditions and for that I'm very grateful to her to this day.  
  
The corners of Elisabeth's lips raised slightly as she remembered her last conversation with Evans before she left the boarding school.  
 _  
" – Please do my last and only favour in honour of our friendship._ – _Elisabeth walked up to Evans and grabbed her hands and squeezed them tightly._ – _Look after Manuela, make sure she's well and help her with her studies as needed once she's recovered, I think she'll have a hard time at first. Please write me every few months at least to let me know how she is, I can't tell you how I feel about her, but it's very important to me that she's okay. You are the only one I can trust here._

– _Of course, it would be an honour to fulfil my friend's last wish before departure, which will most likely be permanent."  
  
_ As Evans had promised, Elisabeth had been receiving letters about how Manuela was dealing with all the problems and how she was getting into trouble, and the fact that the promise had been kept was still very heart-warming to the woman's soul.

– Manuela, I asked Miss Evans not to tell you about this... – Elisabeth hesitantly began  
  


Manuela looked at her former teacher with interest   
  


– I asked her to keep an eye on you and support you even if it might be harmful to her, it was really important to me to know that even after I left you would have some kind of support.  
  
Tears came back to Manuela's eyes, the fact that the woman cared for her even when she wasn't around made her heart begin to beat faster.   
  


– Thank you, I'm extremely grateful for that. – Manuela brought Elisabeth's hands to her lips and left a weightless kiss on them.  
  
Such tender gesture took the woman's breath away. The feelings overwhelmed her, and she was ready to give an answer to the main question of why she had called her here.  
  
– Manuela, I...  
  


Elisabeth was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a waiter who offered to fill the empty glasses. They both drew their hands sharply back to themselves as if they had been caught doing something inappropriate.   
  


The waiter left, and silence returned to the table, each of them deep in thought, processing the information they had heard during the evening.

Manuela was already sitting there slightly drunk. " _The lie came back to me with a jolly boomerang indeed"._

The silence still went on, Manuela had almost finished her newly poured glass, and Elisabeth wondered again how to raise the main question again.  
  
– Answer me one question: Who are we to each other? – Manuela’s question sounded rather sharp in the woman's ears, and it was already clear from her voice that girl had had a little too much champagne.  
  
Elisabeth, for her part, merely twirled the glass in her hand as she watched the sparkling liquid beat against the sides of the glass, contemplating her next steps.  
  
– I think we should go, – Elisabeth said after a short pause, standing up from the table and leaving Manuela's question unanswered. For now.


	11. Chapter 11

Before leaving the studio, Elisabeth asked the driver to wait outside the restaurant in case the evening dragged on. Manuela staggered to the exit, woman even wanted to hold her elbow for fear that she can lost her balance any moment. _"How nervous did you have to be to drink so much?"_ Elisabeth's mind was filled with thoughts, but she was not desperate enough to drive the girl to her house in this condition.  
Women sat silently in the car on opposite sides of the windows. Manuela, of course, had time to throw out a few wry comments about her being able to walk home. Her question had already been ignored twice and it made her a little angry, but she was not going to remind about that.  
  


– Fraulein, where are we going? – the driver asked before starting the engine.

Elisabeth glanced at Manuela who was staring out the window with furrowed brows and just giggled at this sweet scene.  
  


– Friedrich, Manuela will tell you the address of her house and then take me back to my empty townhouse.   
  


_"Two can play this game."_  
  
– Leave me near Potsdamer Platz, I will take a walk to my flat alone. – Manuela said in a completely dispassionate voice  
  
Elisabeth was not very satisfied with ending the evening on that tone, she had not explained the main thing, and it bothered her a little.

The car drove through the lighted streets that were almost empty at this hour. Manuela was replaying the moments of the evening in her head: the looks, tender hand touching, the feeling of being important to someone. Alcohol always had a strange effect on the girl and made her feel a kind of melancholy. She was expecting Elisabeth to call her to her townhouse and finally answer her question, but she made it clear that apparently not today.

– Oh God!

The car suddenly swerved to the right and Manuela's head landed on Elisabeth's lap.

_"Probably should have held on to the seat tighter."  
  
_

– Sorry, there was a cat on the road. – Friedrich began to apologise.  
  


But the women could no longer hear the driver's apology for the mistake. The adrenaline in her bloodstream as the car made a sudden movement, prevented the woman from even realising that Manuela was lying on her lap. Only when the girl grabbed her shoulder to get up did she realise what was happening.  
  


– I'm sorry, I hope I didn't get lipstick on your skirt. – Manuela finally sat up straight, but didn't move back to her window and continued to sit next to her boss.  
  


– It's okay, we're going home anyway. – Elisabeth tried to reassure her by giving her a warm smile.  
  
Manuela literally fixed her gaze on the profile of the woman who was looking out the window. _"She seems even more ethereal in the light of the streetlights."_

  
She hoped that Elisabeth wouldn't notice how intently she was staring at her, but the woman could literally feel the stare on her and made sure of it herself as she threw a sharp glance in the girl's direction.

 _"It's time to keep playing"_ Elisabeth chuckled quietly at her own thought and placed her hand on Manuela's thigh.  
  
Manuela shuddered at the sudden touch and closed her eyes slightly, enjoying the feel of the warmth of her hand through the fabric of her skirt. Elisabeth noticed that the girl was sitting with her eyes almost closed and her breathing was slightly ragged, but she had no intention of stopping. The woman began to slowly run her fingers along her thigh, sometimes deliberately tracing the inner side of it with her nails. A rather loud sigh escaped the girl's lips; it seemed to get a few degrees hotter in the car.  
  


With each movement of Elisabeth's hand, Manuela's underbelly began to whine with renewed intensity. When woman's fingers reached the edge of her skirt Manuela snuggled up to Elisabeth's neck and began to shower it with wet kisses. Former teacher moved her hand from the girl's thighs to the waist to press her harder against herself. Somewhere in the back of her mind, there was a thought that Friedrich was also in the car, but then with a relief she remembered that he often drove her along with Romy and this would not be a surprise to him.  
  
Elisabeth let out a low moan when she felt a light bite on her collarbone. Faint touch sent an electric spark through her body, and she squeezed Manuela’s waist tighter.

Girls' hands began to reach for the buttons on the woman's shirt, but Elisabeth stopped her with her hand.  
  
– Manuela, wait. – The labored breathing made it a little hard to come to one's senses.  
  


– I cannot exactly say what we are to each other yet.  
  


There it is. One of those unfortunate scenarios Manuela had imagined on their way to the restaurant. She lowered her head sadly so woman wouldn't notice how tears appeared in her eyes. _"Now she'll definitely fire me and lecture me for taking liberties"  
  
_Elisabeth saw the girl's fallen condition and became slightly worried, but at this very moment she wanted to see her eyes when she was about to say the most important thing. The woman reached out and lifted Manuela's lowered face by the chin until two glances finally met. What she certainly didn't expect were the tears in her eyes that were about to spill.  
  


– ...but all I can say is that I can't get you out of my head and I want to keep seeing you outside the office.  
  
Manuela's mouth dropped open in astonishment and a tear of relief mixed with bliss ran down her pale cheek.  
  


– Come on, there's no need to cry, nobody's going to take us away from each other now. – Elisabeth tried to cheer her up, stroking the girl's cheek as she wiped away the wet trail of tears.  
  


– I love you. – Manuela whispered in a sigh.  
  
Elizabeth literally began to shiver after hearing this declaration. Warmth filled her soul, tenderness was so overwhelming that she couldn't help herself and pulled Manuela's face closer to hers to give her a kiss. It was quite the opposite of the one that had happened in the townhouse: this one was slow, full of gratitude, sensuality and affection. Elisabeth tried to put into the kiss all the feelings she had for Manuela and the three words she had been wary of so far.  
Pulling away from Elisabeth, Manuela gave her the broadest smile she had ever seen. Elizabeth couldn't help but smile back, softly stroking the girl's lower lip with her thumb.  
  


Manuela put her arm around her waist and rested her head on her shoulder with eyes closed as she enjoyed the pleasant warmth and delicate scent of Elizabeth's perfume.

The woman returned to staring out at the Berlin streets at night, wondering how their relationship was going to develop further. The car began to slow down and then stopped completely.  
  


–We got to Potsdamer Platz. – Friedrich announced.  
  
Elisabeth glanced at the girl, whom she did not want to let go at all.  
  


– Manuela, we're here, – the woman said softly, stroking her shoulder, but she did not react. She lowered her head, then moved her face closer to Manuela's, heard a soft sniffling, and chuckled at that. Apparently, alcohol and the warmth of a loved one worked even better than sleeping pills.  
  
– Friedrich, let's go to the townhouse, I hope you can help me move her to the guest bedroom. – Elisabeth had nothing better to do than to take the girl to her flat, since she had not given the exact address of her flat, there was no better choice than to take her to her place.

Since the roads were rather empty, they quickly drove to the townhouse.

The quiet sniffling was beginning to lull the woman to sleep, but the car stopped just in time, preventing her from falling asleep.  
  
Gently removing Manuela's arm from her waist, Elisabeth waited for Friedrich to open the door, absolutely unwilling to leave the car. When she got out of the car, she threw a glance at the peacefully sleeping girl and after a little weighing of the pros and cons ordered Friedrich to carry her to her bedroom. _“Well, I don't think she'll be happy waking up in an empty bed in the middle of nowhere, but if she's in my room it will be better for everyone.”  
  
_The driver carefully lifted the lightweight Manuela and carried her into the house where Elisabeth was already busy preparing a bath supplies in case the girl woke up before her.

Friedrich quickly managed to do everything and after saying goodbye to Elisabeth, he quickly left the house.

On leaving the bathroom, Elisabeth saw how defenceless Manuela looked in her sleep. It brought back slightly sad memory of the last time she had seen her in the boarding school.  
  
_"Sister Superior brought her hand closer to Manuela's, and suddenly she grasped it in her sleep. Elizabeth's heart clenched with pain, for the last thing she wanted in the world was to leave the girl alone like that._

– _I never asked anyone for a favour, – Elizabeth understood where Sister Superior was going with this and lowered her eyes to the floor to hold back her tears._

_\- Please... stay with us_

_Elizabeth shook her head, unable to speak a word. Pausing and catching her breath, she said what she had to._

– _Manuela will find her own way in life. – her unshakable faith in this angel, who was restlessly sleeping, made her believe in a better outcome of this situation.”  
  
_Wiping a damp trail from her cheek and pushing the painful memories from her mind, woman lay back on the bed and covering the girl with the blanket gently hugged her by the waist, quickly falling into the realm of sleep after such a busy day.  
  
***  
Manuela woke up feeling terrible thirst. A typical thirst after drinking too much alcohol. Her head ached slightly, and when she opened her eyes, she did not recognise where she was and began to panic a little. Although the room was quite dark it was easy for the girl to realise that this was not her flat and that something warm was holding her by the waist rather tightly. Panic struck with new force and rising cautiously, without removing the hand she found that Elisabeth was lying beside her on a pillow. The fact that she was lying there calmed her a little, but the fact that she didn't remember how she got into her bed made her a little upset.  
  
The last thing the girl remembered was lying on Elisabeth's shoulder in the car in the way to her flat. She wasn't even embarrassed by the fact that she was lying on her boss's bed in just her undergarment which was underneath her dress.

Carefully removing woman's hand she went to the bathroom to get a glass of water and relieving her thirst she found a carton of cigarettes in her pocket and headed to the balcony.  
  


The sun was just beginning to set outside and it was quite chilly, but that did not worry the girl at all.  
  
After taking her first deep inhale, there were many thoughts running through Manuela's mind, and the two things that bothered her the most were _"Did something happen between us?"_ and _"If nothing happened, then who undressed me?”_ She froze at the last one and bit her lip slightly, imagining how Elisabeth would have done it and how she would have felt at that moment.

Meanwhile, Elisabeth woke up because the bed became noticeably colder than before. Manuela, whom she had been hugging all night, had suddenly disappeared, leaving a considerably less warm pillow in her place, and Elisabeth wondered at first if the events of the previous night was just a dream. But then, the distant sound of running water in the bathroom somehow calmed the woman down.

Manuela was here, with her, and she wasn't going anywhere, because if she wanted to, she would have already done so.

_"Nothing happened, at least not yet,_ _–_ the woman reminded herself _, – and I won't bring it up until Manuela wants me to”._

The first thing the woman remembered was how suddenly, in the middle of the night, Manuela instinctively reached out and put her hand around the waist, exhaling in relief somewhere in Elisabeth's neck. Smiling, the woman pulled her tighter against herself.

At the place where the girl had been lying recently, there was a trail of her body. Elisabeth unintentionally remembered undressing the girl last night and swallowed nervously.

_“Taking off the girl's clothes and leaving her in just her underwear Elisabeth involuntarily gasped, noting that Manuela was in the prime of her beauty. The stylish lingerie only accentuated it_.”

The feeling of Manuela's warmth around her was nothing compared to the rare times Romy spent the night with her. Now it seemed so distant and meaningless that Elisabeth didn't even want to think about it.

It seemed to be the first time in a while that the woman felt actually relaxed after a nap, as if she had enough sleep. Moreover, she was frightened to think that perhaps such happiness had only happened to her once.

Chasing away anxious thoughts, Elisabeth got up and, fixing her hair with hand a bit, started getting ready for a new day with all its difficulties and worries.

  
  
***  
The cigarette had burned out and Manuela's feet were slightly cold, so she decided to go back into the room. When she returned, she found Elisabeth hugging the pillow on which Manuela previously had been lying. This sweet picture made the girl's heart skip a few beats. Manuela knew that she would not be able to sleep again and went to the shower, where she found towels and shower supplies already prepared, which made her mind even more confused.

After closing the doors and removing the rest of her clothes, she turned on the water and stepped under the relaxing hot streams of water. The steam and scent of French rose soap filled the room. Soaping herself she accidentally touched her lower lip with a finger and her imagination flashed back to yesterday's kiss with Elisabeth and how Manuela had told her how she felt. Shaking off her head, she quickly finished her bath and reached for the towel.  
  


Wiping her damp skin from behind the closed door of the room a quiet voice was heard, which made the girl slightly tense.  
  
– Manuela! – this time the voice sounded clearer.  
  
Manuela heard a note of panic in Elisabeth's voice and could think of nothing better than to cover herself with the woman's black silk dressing gown, because no extra one was found. _"At the same time I can check by Elisabeth's reaction if we've had anything this night."_ With that thought, the girl slowly opened the door.  
  
– Elisabeth, you seemed worried, did something happen? – Manuela herself was a little amazed as to where she got her confidence all the more since she was standing in front of her boss with only a black dressing gown pressed to her body.  
  


Elisabeth saw this picture in front of her literally forgot how to breathe: Manuela's hair was slightly damp, there were still drops of water on her collarbones and neck, and the dressing gown she was wrapped in pieces stuck to the wet skin of her breasts. The woman tried to focus her gaze on her guest's face, but it was quite a difficult thing to do.  
  
Manuela saw the woman's state and with a smile on her face decided to continue teasing her. She slowly walked over to the bed and sat down not far from woman, crossing her legs.  
  


The closer the girl came, the harder Elisabeth's heart began to beat.

– You have seen girls after showers before at the boarding school, what is so confusing to you? – Manuela started without waiting for an answer to her previous question.  
  
Elisabeth's condition confirmed the conjecture that nothing had happened between them, but that did not stop the girl from continuing her game. Manuela began to trace patterns on the woman's arm, running her fingertips over the skin covered in freckles that she thought were insanely adorable.  
  
Elisabeth felt the soft touch and her skin covered with goosebumps, wondering how much the girl's slightest touch was affecting her. Manuela's hand continued to move further to her shoulder, following the freckled path. When the girl's finger picked up the strap of her nightgown, Elisabeth stopped it with her hand, looking up at her and still with a slight blush on her cheeks.  
  
– Manuela, we'll talk over morning coffee, until then you can get your things and go to the guest room, which is right across from mine, and finish your morning routine there. - It sounded literally like an order, which upset the girl a little, and she abruptly got out of bed, took her things from the bedside table and left the room.

Elisabeth's kitchen turned out to be small and cosy, exactly as Manuela imagined it.  
  
– Make yourself at home, coffee will be ready in a few minutes, – Elisabeth said warmly, turning her back on her, as if she haven't just sent her to the guest room.

Manuela obediently sat down on the sofa and began to watch the woman, who had managed to put on her dressing gown, and was now making coffee and frying eggs with a serious look. Smiling involuntarily at the silence that arose between them, the girl silently walked over and hugged Elisabeth lightly from behind. The movement came out so natural that both lost their ability to breathe for a second.

With a gasp, Elisabeth almost dropped the spatula from her hands and turned sharply, looking directly into Manuela's eyes. The girl saw the mischievous sparks in Elisabeth's eyes and, smiling, touched her neck with her lips, feeling the woman shuddering with pleasure.

– Last night was... quite fun, wasn't it? – the girl finally said, deciding not to stop pretending, – Did you like it? I must confess, I remember almost nothing but I am sure it all went great. I mean, you... you are such an experienced woman, it must've been fabulous, right? – Manuela said, constantly checking the woman's reaction.  
  
– Manuela! – Elisabeth blushed immediately, taking a step back as she couldn't think clearly when the girl was so close.

_"She really thinks something happened between us... Oh, I need to tell her the truth but in the gentlest way"._

– Manuela, you see, when we got to your place you've fallen asleep and I didn't want to wake you up, so I thought it would be a good idea to bring you here. You didn't even wake up when Friedrich, my driver, carried you upstairs... What I'm trying to say is... nothing happened between us last night, whether we like it or not, – the last sentence was said almost in a whisper.  
  


Elisabeth was desperately trying to avoid Manuela's gaze, being almost afraid of girl's reaction.

– I know, darling, – Manuela laughed, unobtrusively taking Elisabeth's hands in hers and stepping closer, – but thank you for telling me what happened, anyway. This whole situation helped me to discover the reciprocity of my feelings for you, as strange as it sounds, I'm glad I got drunk, told you how I felt and ended up in this townhouse because I love you, – the girl simply said.  
  
– I... I don't know how this plays out but I love you too, – the woman said sincerely, – I've never stopped loving you and I don't want you to think I care about the professional ethics more than about our relationship.  
  
Both of them had tears in their eyes when the woman finished speaking. Manuela gave Elisabeth the most tender hug she was capable of and whispered lovingly:  
  
– You love me and I love you, that's all that matters for now. We'll figure out the rest, I promise.  
  
Elisabeth simply nodded, still unable to express how much she craved such words and ended the conversation with a gentle but persistent kiss.  
  
An unusually calm atmosphere reigned in the kitchen of Elisabeth's house this morning and it seemed that both women finally felt happy.


End file.
